Transportation using motor vehicles is an integral part of the daily life of a large part of humanity. The speed, efficiency and convenience of modern road systems have improved a great deal since the time when the first roads were built. The safety of motor vehicles has also increased substantially over recent years.
Despite these improvements, roughly 30 thousand people lose their life and 2 million people are injured in the more than 10 million vehicle accidents reported each year in the United States alone.
Highway vehicle accident scenes are very dangerous since they create a stationary obstacle while incoming vehicles travel at high-speed. First respondents to a vehicle crash site face the most dangerous task of setting up the initial security perimeter aiming at diverting the incoming traffic away from the damaged vehicles and injured passengers. Each year in the United States alone, millions of law officers and first respondents risk their life working on roads and thousands are injured or die every year because of the unavailability of adequate tools to perform these tasks safely.
“Move over” laws have been passed in the great majority of the US states and in all Canadian provinces. These laws make it compulsory for drivers to slow down or change lanes and move away from stopped emergency vehicles. Despite these laws, too many accidents still occur every year.
Various types of road safety markers exist but the prior art systems have many drawbacks and limitations. There is still a need for a road safety marker which can be disposed quickly and efficiently on the road by the first respondents, either manually or through an automated dispenser.